As all who care are aware, a bipartisan Congressional funding bill required to keep the government open, considered completed but for formal passage, was scuttled this week. For the most part, I’ve been adhering to my intent to distance myself from public affairs throughout the Holidays, so I don’t know whether the bill was substantively good or bad, but do understand that Congress needs to pass a funding measure by midnight tonight to avoid a government shutdown. It’s been reported that the bipartisan compromise was abandoned after Billionaire Financier Elon Musk tweeted against the bill innumerable times on December 18. It’s also been reported that that President-Elect Donald Trump himself suddenly opposed the bill unless it included an increase in the federal debt ceiling while President Joe Biden is still in office, although there is no formal need to extend the debt ceiling until sometime this summer.
Since Messrs. Musk and Trump torpedoed the bipartisan funding bill, Democrats have declared that they won’t support any new bill that House Republican leaders jerry-rig. I’m hoping they stick to it. I sincerely hope that they aren’t idiotic enough to capitulate to Mr. Trump’s sudden demand to expand the debt ceiling when there is no pressing need. If Speaker Mike Johnson gets no Democratic help, I think he might find – since he has proclaimed that the Bible is his worldview – that it was easier for Moses to collaborate with the Almighty on parting the Red Sea than it will be for him to generate a symphony from the Republican House cacophony.
Not to be lost in the chaos: the Dynamic Duo of Messrs. Musk and Trump are pulling in different directions. Mr. Musk seemingly wishes to use the authority Mr. Trump has indicated that he will be granted to cut federal spending with apparently little regard for public reaction. At the same time, Mr. Trump is evidently well aware that the large segment of his electoral base who depend on government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid don’t actually care about reducing the deficit if reduction measures adversely affect their benefits and services.
In terms that Mr. Johnson would understand if not appreciate: the majority of American voters opted for this Tower of Babel, and now they’re beginning their trip to Gehenna.
While Mr. Musk’s billions have obviously provided him significant influence for some time, his overt political ascendance has occurred at stunning speed. I’m wondering whether Mr. Trump yet perceives the risks he has assumed in squirting a Musk scent so liberally over his incoming Administration, and if so, what he is able to do about it.
MAGAs are absolutely excellent at spreading propaganda through their alt-right echo chamber; they’re already trying to spin this debacle as Democrats’ fault despite the fact that they hold the majority in the House. Their claims will undoubtedly be accepted blindly by Fox viewers and the like. If Democrats have any savvy at all – not a given – they should exploit this extraordinary opportunity to make Mr. Musk the issue – and politically emasculate Mr. Trump (whom exit polls indicate some young men voted for because of his manliness) in the process. Nobody likes billionaires, rank-and-file MAGAs no more than anybody else. One and all, House Democrats should message, “We will vote for what was going to be passed by both parties until Donald Trump’s puppeteer, Elon Musk, got in the way. We will vote for nothing more, and nothing less.” Every House Democrat should put this message out every hour of every day in every outlet they can reach.
According to an “AI Overview” generated in response to my Google search:
“Description
Musk is a warm, subtle, and complex scent that can be powdery, sweet, woodsy, or earthy. It can also have fruity or floral undertones. Some say it’s a better version of the natural smell of skin.
Uses
Musk is a common base note in perfumes, adding depth, warmth, and longevity to fragrances. It can also be found in candles and room sprays.
Origins
Musk originally came from the musk deer’s glands, but is now mostly synthetic or plant-based. The name “musk” comes from the Late Greek word moskhos, which is derived from Persian and Sanskrit words meaning “testicle”. The deer’s gland was thought to resemble a scrotum.
Ethical concerns
The use of natural musk in perfumery has been banned due to ethical concerns over the cruel practices involved in obtaining it from deer.”
There are certainly those among Mr. Musk’s detractors who maintain that Mr. Musk will engage in cruel practices. Unless the incoming Administration is willing to quickly institutes autocratic measures to achieve its unpopular aims, Mr. Trump and Congressional Republicans may soon determine that they need to distance themselves from Mr. Musk before he extracts any more from their political moskhos. 😉
McCoy's Noise 